Big topic question: How does anxiety affect our mental health?
My 3 sub-questions:
1)What is anxiety?
My peers and I are very anxious, especially in the final year of high school. I wanted to know why we feel anxious and if it is beneficial to our mental health. For example, I noticed anxiety sometimes motivates me to study harder for a difficult test. I try my best to take walks and breaks to not get too anxious, but it does not always help. I was also curious to find out how anxiety is related to OCD, depression or disorganization. I was curious if anxiety was genetic. For example, my grandpa is often anxious, so does that mean his deceased father might have also been anxious?
2)How can we avoid too much anxiety?
I wanted to research the most effective ways to get an adequate amount of anxiety. This also affects everyone because we are all stressed and anxious throughout our lives. For example, some common events that can trigger anxiety are marriage planning, grades, family, or retirement. I hope to help the global population to be mentally stronger to easily accomplish their goals. I also wanted to research how we can determine the “satisfactory” level of anxiety that will benefit us. For example, my mom seems to handle anxiety better than I do even though she has more adversities to think about like her job, kids, and house management.
3)How does anxiety positively or negatively affect our mental health?
I wanted to research how anxiety positively or negatively affects our mental health. For example, is being too relaxed not beneficial because we are not as determined? Next, I wanted to understand the precise statistics or surveys about how anxious people think anxiety affects their health. This will help me to find a non-bias answer by researching both point of views. Before doing the research, I think it is mostly negative because anxiety affects our digestion and sleep patterns. However, I would like to do more research to make a final decision.
Implications on a global level:
This big topic question will have implications on a global level because we are all stressed and anxious at least once in our lives. Anxiety is an adversity that may be rarely or regularly part of our routines. I hope to find ways to meditate that will decrease our anxiety. We need to enjoy the present moment instead of finding unhealthy coping mechanisms like scrolling on social media. I hope to help the global population realize the effect of too much anxiety in their lives.
ALL SOURCES ARE PEER-REVIEWED:
“How to Tell the Difference Between Nervousness and Anxiety.” Verywell Mind, https://www.verywellmind.com/is-it-normal-anxiety-or-an-anxiety-disorder-2584401. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.
Stress vs. Anxiety: Differences, Symptoms, and Relief. 24 Apr. 2020, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/stress-vs-anxiety.
“Effects of Anxiety on the Body.” Healthline, 24 Sept. 2014, https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/effects-on-body.
Anxiety. https://medlineplus.gov/anxiety.html. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.
Cohen, Dr Sandra E. “Can Anxiety Be Cured? Yes, And Here’s How.” Sandra Cohen PhD, 19 July 2021, https://sandracohenphd.com/can-anxiety-be-cured-yes-heres-how/.
Thank you,
Sarah Kim
